Ro’Derick Spears had spoken with many colleges, but none were looking to offer him a scholarship. The North Port football player and track and field athlete took the one offer he received.

Friday, he will sign with Coffeysville Community College in Kansas, a school that has a reputation for sending players to the next level in college and beyond.

“I’m trying to make it out of North Port. The first deal that was on the table, I took it and ran with it,” Spears said. “I wasn’t disappointed. I knew what it was going to come down to, so I might as well have faced facts, get it done, do my year and a half and get out of there.”

Coffeysville is so open about having Spears on its roster, it has yet to discuss where he will play.

“I asked them about offense or defense, and they said they would figure it out when I got there,” said Spears, a wide receiver/cornerback who runs a 4.52 40. “They said I could play both sides of the ball.”

That is just fine with Spears.

“I love both sides of the ball,” he said. “It really doesn’t matter to me. No big deal.”

Spears has some unfinished business before he departs North Port High.

Friday, he competed for the Bobcats’ track and field team at the Wally Keller Invitational at Charlotte High.

As Spears smoothly cleared a hurdle in the prelims, a coach at another area school called Spears “the real deal.”

Spears won both hurdles (and both prelims, for that matter) and anchored a winning 4x100 relay team. He tamed the 110-meter hurdles in 14.58 seconds, the 300 hurdles in 40.58 and teamed with Cody Janski, Robenson Saintard and Leonard Faison for the relay victory in 41.18.

And he did not have long in between races to recover, as his legs locked up at the finish line after the 300 hurdles.

Nonetheless, he went 3-for-3 in the final race before Wednesday’s Class 4A-District 6 at Spoto High School in Riverview.

Spears set some lofty goals for the postseason.

“Get more than one state medal,” Spears said. “I want to get more than one state medal at the state track meet.”

Spears never has run in a final at the state meet. As a sophomore, he finished 14th in the 300 hurdles. Last year as a junior, he was 15th in the 300 and 10th in the 110 hurdles.

“I want to get two,” Spears said. “If I can, three …”

Spears also is running the final leg of the Bobcats’ 4x100 relay team.

In preparation for his senior season on the track, he changed his training program.

“More conditioning, a lot of technique and with the relay a lot of handoffs, a lot of handoffs back and forth,” Spears said. “Mainly a lot of conditioning and technique.”

He credits North Port coach Tony Miller and his teammates for providing training regiment.

“They help me. I help them,” Spears said. “I lean back and they catch me. I trust them. They trust me. And Coach Miller is there with us. He gives us the workouts. I trust him.”

And when the 6-foot-1, 170-pound Spears takes the baton for the final 100 meters of the relay, he is confident, whether he is in the lead or trailing.

“I feel good,” he said. “As long my teammates give me the handoff in a good place, I’ll be all right. Even if I’m behind, I feel like I’ll be all right.”

And now Spears is at ease with his college decision to attend Coffeysville C.C., even if it means giving up track.

“I want to continue my football life,” he said. “I love football. I don’t think I could give it up. I want to continue my football life. I’ll keep doing track. If it has to fade away, then it has to. But if not, then I want it to stay with me. I love both of them. I’m leaning toward doing both of them. We’ll have to see whichever one falls.”

Sarasota had a pair of double winners. Jammeria Higdon captured the girls’ sprints, winning the 100 in 13.21 and the 200 in 27.25. On the boys side, Zachery Summerall took the 800 in 1:59.11, the only sub-2 minute finisher, and the 1,600 in 4:25.88.

On the boys side Riverview’s Richie James (400) and Beau Amuso (pole vault) and Charlotte’s Michael D’Alessandro (long jump) were individual winners as was the Tarpons’ 4x800 relay team of Forest Sutton, Dominic Cardenas, Timothy Modzelewski and Connor Quinn.

In the team scoring, Fort Myers took both titles. Sarasota girls finished second with 79 to 107.5 for the Green Wave. The North Port boys had its season-long winning streak snapped, scoring 114.5 points to 135 for Fort Myers.